3. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Hal
“Gusss!” I whisper-yelled at my best friend as I struggled to pry Lumi off my nose. Damn, that kid was as hungry as his daddy. Gus looked up from the hammock where he was lounging, Ember sleeping on his chest.
“What?” Gus grinned back at me, his eyes spilling over with happiness. I’d never seen my friend this content before, and as annoying as Seb could sometimes be, I still had a soft spot for the little grumpy guy for making my bestie smile this big.
“Go get your man,” I gritted. “I need one of his pecs. Now!”
Gus nearly did a somersault out of the hammock, clutching a disgruntled Ember in his arms. “You what?!” He glared at me.
“Your monster baby is hungry and thinks my nose is a nipple,” I groaned. “At least get him off me before he devours my entire face!”
“Seb’s in a meeting with his advisors. Just pull him off.” Gus shook his head, his shaggy blond hair falling into his eyes.
“A meeting? How long do they usually last?” I guess this was why that little guy, Briar, hadn’t spied on me for the last hour or so.
The way he followed me around was hilarious; his head of blond hair peeking around a corner or popping up behind a flower bush in the garden.
I mean, I knew omegas were different from us alphas, but there was different, and then there was…
weird. Although it was kind of cute, too, in a lost puppy kind of way.
“I don’t know,” Gus shrugged, then placed Ember carefully back into the hammock, rocking it quietly, before he moved toward me to commence Operation: Detach Boob Beast from Bestie’s Nose.
At first, Lumi just intensified his suction skills, but when Gus started wiggling him carefully from side to side, Lumi let go with a pop.
“Oh, thank the gods,” I sighed. “Is it intact, my nose, or shall I walk through life permanently deformed?”
“You’re ridiculous,” Gus snorted, then blew loud raspberries against Lumi’s thick baby cheeks. I had to admit that being a dad was a good look for my friend.
“I’m not kidding. If I want to snag an omega of my own, I can’t walk around all mutilated.
I gotta look my best.” Now that alphas and omegas could actually be together outside of heats, I couldn’t wait to meet someone and start my own family.
Growing up in an orphanage for unwanted alpha children had left me craving a family, so when I finally ran away at the age of twelve, and Lord Willoughby took me in, I’d found one.
And a brother in Gus. Now that I knew I wouldn’t father children only to be sent away, I wanted an entire army of mini-mes, maybe one for each month of the year, so I had an excuse to throw a big birthday party every month.
“Don’t be so dramatic. You look the same as always,” Gus frowned, bouncing a now crying Lumi in his arms. “Gods, he really is hungry.”
“Well, duh!” I pointed at my slightly throbbing nose.
“Can you get Ember, and then we’ll go track down Seb? His royal duties are gonna have to wait.”
“Sure, Your Royal Consortness!” I jumped from the garden chair that was way too small for my large frame and felt more like a torture device.
It seemed most furniture at the palace was made for omegas, and I swear, last night at dinner, I heard the chair creaking under me.
That’s why I held back with the food, as delicious as it was.
Snagging Ember from the hammock, I trailed after Gus, Lumi’s ear-piercing cries alerting several servants, who kindly offered their help. Gus waved them off politely, then stalked up the stairs to the palace, two steps at a time, and I followed.
As soon as we reached Seb’s office, Gus threw the door open, and we barged in, met by three sets of astonished eyes. Seb and Elias both flew from their seats and hurried toward Gus, while Briar stayed in the background.
“What happened?” Seb rushed out, already fussing over Lumi, who was now purple in the face from screaming.
“He’s just hungry, my love,” Gus spoke softly, handing Seb the baby.
“Oh. What about Ember?” Seb looked at me, then narrowed his eyes. “What happened to your nose?”
“Oh, God! Is it deformed? It’s deformed, isn’t it? I knew it!” Glaring at Gus, I whined, “Why would you lie to me?”
“So dramatic,” Gus sighed, while Briar’s eyes were glued to my nose, his face pale, as he nibbled on his bottom lip. “I’m telling you, it’s nothing.”
I pointed at Briar. “Then why is Briar looking at me all funny?” As if on cue, a whimper flew from Briar’s mouth, then he stormed past me and out of the office.
I nodded after Briar. “Does he always do that, or is it just me?”
“Do what?” Elias frowned.
“Storm out of a room like that?”
Seb’s expression softened. “Briar is… He’s different. Sensitive.”
“Oh.” Something tugged at my heart. “Will he be okay, or should I go after him?”
“No!” Seb and Elias blurted simultaneously.
“Don’t go after him. He’ll be okay,” Elias added.
I wasn’t sure I believed him entirely, but I guess they knew Briar better than me.
Maybe I could talk to him tonight over dinner.
I didn’t want him to be afraid of me. Perhaps we could even be friends since we were going to be spending a lot of time together.
“Ahhh, that hit the spot,” I sighed, leaning back in my chair, patting my stomach.
Before we started dinner, I’d asked one of the servants for a sturdier chair, and this time I hadn’t held back.
Like yesterday, Briar sat across from me, watching my every move, his eyes widening whenever I moaned around a bite of food.
I had a feeling he was waiting for something.
Maybe for me to grow a pair of fangs and go all feral alpha.
Growing up, I’d heard the tales of how dangerous we alphas supposedly were, so maybe Briar was just waiting for me to live up to that.
I’d tried several times over dinner to start a conversation with him, but his vocabulary seemed to be limited to ‘yes’ and ‘no’ around me.
Maybe the little guy was just shy. I could relate to that.
Like this morning when I’d had my bath, and the servants had ogled me as if they’d never seen a naked alpha before, whispering amongst themselves.
Two of them had even insisted on drying me afterward and had gotten a little too friendly with my private parts for my liking.
I’d had to bat them off, and they’d looked almost disappointed.
I decided to ask Seb, who was sitting a few chairs away from me. Raising my voice, I called out, “Oy, Seb. So what’s the deal with the royal oglers?! You know, the morning bath routine?”
“Oh gods,” Gus groaned, burying his face in his hands.
“They’re doing that to you, too?” Seb snapped, his cheeks on fire.
“Yep! Full body inspection with curious canoodling, if you know what I mean?” I held up my hands, wiggling my fingers.
A muffled croak escaped Briar, and his cheeks went up in flames.
Seb gaped at me, mortified, then mumbled, “I am so sorry, Hal. I shall take it up with them immediately.”
“Nah, no harm, no foul,” I waved him off. “I was just wondering, is all.” I smiled at Gus. “So it happened to you, too, huh?”
Gus made a cut it out gesture with his hand, while Seb took a long sip of his drink, then exclaimed, “I think Gus and I will retire now.”
The rest of the party got up, too; only Briar remained seated, staring right in front of him.
“Briar?” I asked as I got up from my chair.
“What?” He looked up at me, his eyes huge in his delicate face.
“I’m… I’m sorry if my, uhm… if I made you uncomfortable.” I shrugged. “I don’t always think before I speak.”
“It’s fine,” he murmured. Somehow, that felt like a lie.
I had a feeling Briar was never really fine.
I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but from the short time I’d spent with him, I got a distinct feeling that there was an ever-present air of sadness surrounding him.
It made me curious but also oddly protective, like I wanted to make him less sad, or happy, even.
Growing up in the orphanage, I used to tell the other children these lame jokes whenever they were upset or missed their families. If I could get them to smile just a little, I’d forget about my own loss, too. I hadn’t told a joke in years, but maybe it would work on Briar.
“Hey, Briar?”
His gaze flew to mine, his bottom lip trembling. “What?” he whispered.
“Do you know the joke about the turtle who became a knight?”
He frowned, then shook his head carefully, blond curls swaying around his face.
“Sir Shell-a-lot.” I grinned as I failed to hold back a snort. Damn, I still had it.
At first, Briar didn’t react, but then, there it was, tugging at the corner of his mouth, just the hint of a smile.
I searched the corners of my mind for more jokes when Briar’s frail voice interrupted my thoughts.
“What if the knight were a cat?”
“Uhm… a cat?”
He nodded, his eyes expectant, and it hit me like lightning.
“Sir Paw-some!”
Briar giggled, low in his throat, then smiled wider.
“And his twin Sir Purrr-cival!” Damn, I was on a roll now. Briar was laughing, and it was beautiful; his entire face lit up.
“You’re…” he started, then shook his head.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just…” He slowly got up from his chair. “I think I’ll retire, too.”
“Okay.” I didn’t feel like saying goodnight yet, though. I felt like staying up late and just continuing to tell Briar jokes, listening to his careful laughter. He did look tired, though. “Can I walk you to your room then?”
He eyed me hesitantly, then nodded. “Yes.”